Your tour guide will transport you to the cookery lesson this morning. Explore a local market to learn about products, tastes, and how locals make meals. Following that, there will be a short presentation on the art of Hanoian gastronomy, vegetables, herbs, and spices, and how to prepare and utilize them. The Chef will explain her pride in Vietnamese food and the techniques to making it delicious. Enjoy Hanoi-style native cuisine.

You will spend the day exploring Vietnam’s lovely capital. Hanoi is an eclectic blend that provides something for everyone, with its broad tree-lined boulevards, French colonial buildings, calm lakes, and ancient oriental pagodas. Your city trip will take you to the Temple of Literature, Hoa Loa Prison (previously known as the “Hanoi Hilton” during the Vietnam War), and West Lake, which includes the tranquil Tran Quoc Pagoda and Quan Thanh Temple.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch.
Accommodation: Hotel in Hanoi.

After breakfast, depart for a 3- to 4-hour journey to the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Halong Bay. The Halong Bay itinerary below is an example of our typical service on a three-star junk/cruise. Our luxury cruise itineraries provide a variety of programming (Please contact us for more details) *
Spend 24 hours on a traditional Junk Cruise in the beautiful bay, natural beauty of jutting limestone islets and stunning blue waters.

As you sail out into the mysterious bay, have a sumptuous meal of fresh seafood onboard. In the afternoon, take a boat around some of Halong’s many islands. Visit one of the bay’s three major caverns along the route (Thien Cung, Dau Go or Sung Sot). Stop at an island cove with a secluded white sand beach and cool down in the Gulf of Tonkin’s warm waters (if the weather will be suitable). Sleep the night away on your trash, lulled to sleep by the gently rolling of calm seas.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner.
Accommodation: Cruise on Halong Bay.

Wake up early and do Tai Chi on the top deck, or simply relax and watch the dawn over the bay’s towering islands. Enjoy a cup of coffee or tea in the morning before rowing out to explore the local islands. Return to the junk for brunch, then relax on the sundeck and observe the incredible rock formations of Bai Tu Long Bay as you sail back to Halong City, where your driver will meet you at the pier and transport you to Noi Bai Airport for your short flight to Danang. Your tour guide and driver will transport you to your accommodation in Hoian, a picturesque, old-world trade port with tiny streets and traditional buildings, and the beach with its magnificent resorts and long length of pure white sand.

Meals: Brunch.
Accommodation: Hotel in Hoian.

Enjoy a culinary lesson at the Red Bridge Cooking School this morning. Meet at the Hai Scout Cafe in the heart of Hoian’s Old Town. We’ll then make our way to Hoian’s vibrant market. Explore the market and talk to local merchants to get some fresh ingredients for today’s culinary session. Then, take the Red Bridge boat for a 25-minute journey down the Hoian River to the Red Bridge Cooking School. Before beginning your cookery course, explore the school’s herb and vegetable garden. The program lasts around an hour and 15 minutes and includes demonstrations from the school’s chefs as well as an opportunity to assist in the preparation of traditional meals.

Enjoy an introductory instruction in the art of Vietnamese food carving at the conclusion of class (plate decoration).
In the afternoon, enjoy a walking tour through the historical town center’s tiny winding alleyways, stopping at Chua Ong Pagoda, the Chinese Assembly Hall, the 200-year-old Tam Ky ancestral residence, and the famed Japanese Bridge. The rest of the day is yours to do as you like.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch.
Accommodation: Hotel in Hoian.

After breakfast, check out of the hotel and travel north to Hue across the 500m-high Hai Van pass. Stop for a drink at the picturesque Lang Co Beach before continuing on to Hue, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Spend the day on a leisure tour of Vietnam’s historical capital city, stopping at the Royal Citadel, Thien Mu Pagoda, and the Mausoleum of King Tu Duc – a copy of the king’s palace created for the next king’s reincarnation.

Meals: Breakfast.
Accommodation: Hotel in Hue.

Spend a whole day exploring Vietnam’s historic historic capital. Begin the day by seeing the Imperial Citadel, which houses the Imperial City and the Forbidden Purple City, which was previously the Emperor’s private palace. The Imperial City was built in the nineteenth century and was styled after Beijing’s Forbidden City. Within its boundaries, the Imperial Enclosure holds a number of palaces and shrines. Continue your journey in the afternoon, stopping at the Imperial Museum, Tu Hieu Pagoda, and the lively Dong Ba riverbank market.

Meals: Breakfast.
Accommodation: Hotel in Hue.

After breakfast, head to Phu Bai Airport to catch your aircraft to Saigon, Vietnam’s contemporary city (Ho Chi Minh City). Arrive in the early afternoon and take an orientation trip through the bustling streets of Ho Chi Minh City on your way to the hotel. The Reunification Palace, the War Remnants Museum, Notre Dame Cathedral, the City Post Office, and Ben Thanh Market will all be on your itinerary.

Meals: Breakfast.
Accommodation: Hotel in Ho Chi Minh City.

You depart the city this morning for the Ho Chi Minh Cooking Class. Before beginning your culinary course, you will get the opportunity to explore a wide range of flora, herbs, and mushrooms. The program lasts around an hour and 15 minutes and includes demos to help you learn about the diversity of Vietnamese cuisine as well as the opportunity to assist cook traditional meals. After you’ve had the fill of your inventions, head to Cu Chi Tunnels, a large subterranean network of tunnels established originally as a fortification against the French and then developed during the American battle. See secret trapdoors, underground kitchens, living areas and meeting rooms. Those inclined are invited to crawl through selections of the tunnels to better understand what life was like for the Vietnamese soldiers during wartime.
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch.
Accommodation: Hotel in Ho Chi Minh.

Today, depart from Saigon for the Mekong River Delta. Before heading to the riverside village of Cai Be, have an early breakfast at the hotel. Stop along the road to see a confectionery factory and an orchard garden, where you may listen to traditional music. After a leisurely lunch at a riverfront restaurant, take a motorized boat across the Mekong to an island in the center of the river. Before arriving at your guesthouse, ride your bike through a tiny rural community. Spend the afternoon with the house matriarch shopping for ingredients for tonight’s meal. Then, as you assist the family in preparing the evening meal, learn to make traditional food.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch.
Accommodation: Homestay in Mekong Delta.

Wake up early and eat breakfast with the family before taking a motor boat to the famed Cai Rang floating market. Continue the boat journey to see the famed orchards of the Mekong Delta and try some of the fresh, unusual produce. Then travel farther into the countryside, past traditional dwellings constructed of wood and palm leaves and observing local people at work. Return to Can Tho for lunch before driving back to Saigon in the late afternoon.

Meals: Breakfast.
Accommodation: Hotel in Ho Chi Minh City.

Today is free at your leisure for last minute shopping or sight-seeing before driving to the airport to catch your departure flight home.
Meals: Breakfast.
Accommodation: N/A.